The Children's Choice Awards

16 August 2016

EIF 2016 - Sigur Ros

Tonight's show was Sigur Ros! An Icelandic "post-rock" band so intense that my eyes melted off my face and my ears turned into two Viking boats that sailed away on their remains. Kidding. But notice that there are no photos from after the concert today, mainly because we didn't do the normal post-concert meet-and-greet, but also because I turned around to discover our jury had been zapped into little piles of volcanic ash by the strobe lights.

A few quotes I managed to gather from the ashy remains:

"Crazy." - James

"Ten minutes were way too long for a song. And also it was kind of the same all the time, so I didn't enjoy it." - Cerys

"I thought the animations were GORGEOUS [...]I had no idea you could play guitar with a bow. [...] I don't know if I could name any memorable moments, because I didn't know what any of it was." - Olivia

"I can't see anything. I mean I can. But I can't." - Daisy

"My eyes are still f*cked up." - James again

Wait for it........⚡️✨🌟💥

A video posted by EIF Young People's Jury (@juryassicpark) on Aug 16, 2016 at 7:57pm PDT

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

15 August 2016

EIF 2016 - Magdalena Kožená and Malcolm Martineau

And yet another in a string of matinee performances - today's show: a piano and voice recital from Magdalena Kožená and Malcolm Martineau. The venue and its acoustics were fabulous, but there was more friction between our youth jury and the habitual Queen's Hall audience members than we've encountered before.

*Judgey glares* & *slow clapping*

More squad shots: Daisy, Pattydactyl, Marcarasaurus Top, and Harry with air guitar

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

14 August 2016

EIF 2016 - Chotto Desh

Today's show is Chotto Desh! We had a little time to kill before the show began, so we got in a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity while still in our seats. The show itself blew us away with the special effects and the choreography, and we were lucky enough to meet the dancer himself after the show. Check it out!

#thisishowweroll @edintfest going going going, we're halfway through our show schedule! Get ready #edintfest, for our #awards #ceremony Aug 27!!

A video posted by EIF Young People's Jury (@juryassicpark) on Aug 14, 2016 at 9:15am PDT

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

13 August 2016

EIF 2016 - Shake, a Shakespearean Twelfth Night Remake

On the menu today, a matinee performance of Shake, a retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The performance was in French, with English super-titles, and the jury found the exercise somewhat exhausting to watch. Director Dan Jemmett also sat down with us after the show at the Lyceum bar to chat a bit about the production. We agreed that the plot as complicated but intriguing once you sink your teeth into the action, and that the actor playing Malvolio and Duke Orsino was amazing (it was the same guy in two parts! We were stunned when we realised).

More of our dope squad: (left to right) Rebecca, Louisaurus, Emma, Jamesasurus, Jordandactyl.

RAWR.

"this will bite you"

A photo posted by EIF Young People's Jury (@juryassicpark) on Aug 13, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

11 August 2016

EIF 2016 - Flit

Tonight's performance: Flit.

First photographic appearance of our dinosaur masks (to go with the Juryassic Park theme), plus the jury got stopped exiting the venue for a few official interviews. Exciting!

Revealing their identities: (left to right) Daisy, Louis, James, Jordan

Just a fraction of our dope squad: (left to right) Nicole, Daisy Rex, Cerys, James, Cameron, Louisaurus, Jordandactyl.

We've stopped using our hands, these tooters is how we applaud at the shows! POOOOOOOOOT.

After evaluating the show, we got stopped by some pap.

So we schooled them.

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

10 August 2016

EIF 2016 - The Glass Menagerie

Today's show is the American theatre classic The Glass Menagerie. There was a bit of a mishap walking from our meeting place at The Hub down to King's Theatre, but most of us slid in right as the house lights dimmed. The rest had to watch from the upper circle until the interval, when they could join the rest of us in the stalls.

We took to a surprisingly raucous uproar when someone in the audience whispered loudly "You know who she reminds me of? My mother." as Amanda Wingfield exited a very dramatic scene. Our entire surrounding section burst into giggles until someone whispered for us to "shut up"!

A lot of strong opinions were heard from everyone as we made our way down to the front for the post-show talk with the director. You may know John Tiffany from his slightly more famous production of the new Harry Potter play in London. He talked to us about his decision to abandon medicine to study theatre, and about some of the unusual use of settings and props for this show. Laura, for example, enters and leaves the stage through a sofa.

(Yes, a sofa.)

The jury agreed that the show was pretty bleak. There were a lot of feelings about the aborted romance between Jim and Laura, which had probably frustrated audiences since the play premiered in 1944. The more things change, etc.

A photo posted by EIF Young People's Jury (@juryassicpark) on Aug 10, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

EIF 2016 - First show at The Lyceum: The Destroyed Room

Tonight was our official first show as the jury of the EIF! After a brief meeting at The Hub,we walked down to the 8pm showing of The Destroyed Room at The Lyceum.

Before the show began! We enjoyed the posh theatre decor

We were invited upstairs after the performance to meet Matthew and Sarah, the director and assistant director of the show. We had a few questions for them, especially about the scripted vs. improvised staging of the show.

From the festival website -

"The Destroyed Room is about the profusion of lenses that bring the world and the pain of others right into our rooms, but also keep them at a distance. It’s about what we see and what we turn away from. And what’s coming."

Reflections about the show from Nicole, one of our jurors -

"If you want to see a show that makes you think and gain opinions about controversial issues, The Destroyed Room is the show for you. At first it began with an easy almost funny question which slowly developed into deeper conversation.

All though our group came to the conclusion that it was scripted to some extent however, none of us could tell the exact point in which it started.

The show made me think and develop my own opinions that I have about issues surrounding terrorists and the refugee crisis, it showed just how away from it we all are but highlighted how involved we all are through the media.

It made me ask myself questions about how moral it is to watch videos of people suffering and if people should decide to not see the things they do in the media...such as beheading videos or pictures of refugees on the boats.

The only emotion that I can say I had fully by the end was helplessness. These are big issues that are happening in the world and there we all were in the theatre just watching like it was a film."

Post-show thoughts from Emma:

"Destroyed Room was a gripping production that often made me want to join in the conversation. I spent most of the time either wanting to interject my opinion or intervene and stop the on-stage conflicts. Overall, I didn’t enjoy the show too much as I felt the conversation was sometimes a bit forced and obviously scripted; however, I did like the rather ambiguous ending which was reminiscent of a sci-fi film. It was left up to the audience to decide what the man in the white hazmat suit was doing and what his purpose was."

Matthew Lenton and Sarah Short. We asked Matthew if the actors were given "characters" to improvise from. The answer is ambiguous...

Everyone listening

Everything is ambiguous

More listening

To the left is Barnaby Power, one of the actors. Beside him is Eva, our artistic director trying to get a good shot in.

Popups make it all official, as we know

To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

09 August 2016

EIF 2016 - Barry Humphries' Weimar Cabaret

Tonight's show was Barry Humphries' Weimar Cabaret! A man whom the locals know as the famous comedian behind Dame Edna, and whom the Canadians know as "...hmm?". A big thanks to everyone who had to explain it to us. And a thank you for the fabulous Meow Meow, who came to meet us backstage after the show, still in full performance get-up. Wild.